‘Is this Khushboo Gujarat ki?’: 25 percent candidates are crorepatis
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Abdul hafiz lakhani Ahmedabad
Voters could well be stuck between a rock and a hard place on Tuesday, 3rd November, when eight constituencies go to the polls in the Gujarat state Assembly byelections. A quarter of all candidates have assets amounting to Rs1 crore or more, but almost half ended their formal education after Class 12, and almost a fifth of all the candidates are facing criminal charges, according to a study of their affidavits.
The analysis, conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), states that 14 of the 81 candidates have criminal cases against them, with nine of them named in “serious criminal cases.” While 38% of BJP candidates and 25% of Congress candidates are facing charges, BTP is the worst off with 100%- -in other words, its sole candidate in Karjan- -facing serious criminal charges under the Indian Penal Code.
Of the others, 25% of BJP candidates face serious charges. None of the Congress candidates falls into this category. However, 15% of independent candidates face criminal cases with 8% facing serious charges. Also disappointing is the level of education among the candidates–49% have studied only up to Class 12. While four have postgraduate degrees, six are professional graduates, and 10 are graduates, 11 have passed Class 12, 19 have passed Class 10, 14 ended their education after Class 8 and 10 candidates have only finished Class 5. Three are illiterate and three have “other” qualifications. The ADR report also revealed that an analysis of the candidates’ assets and liabilities shows that 25% of them are selfdeclared crorepatis.
Of the total 81 candidates in the fray, seven (9%) possess wealth amounting to more than Rs5 crore, six have more than Rs2 crore but less than Rs5 crore and 15 have wealth more than Rs50 lakh but less than Rs2 crore. There are 33 candidates with assets worth less than Rs 10 lakh. Independent candidate Pravinbhai Gediya, who is contesting the Dhari seat, has assets of just Rs25,155. In a somewhat ironic twist, the two richest candidates are from the Congress. Morbi candidate Jayanti Patel tops the list, with assets worth Rs10.92 crore and liabilities of Rs1.82 crore. He is followed by Mohan Solanki, the Congress party’s candidate from Gadhada, who has assets worth Rs8.60 crore. Per candidate, the Congress party’s average assets amount to Rs4.38 crore. For the BJP, this number is a relatively more modest Rs2.52 crore. However, it is worth noting that all eight of candidates from the ruling party are crorepatis, against six from the Opposition and six Independent candidates.
